The next U.S. president will be forced to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in "a different Middle East context," dictated by possible leadership transitions in Israel and the Palestinian territory as a result of upcoming elections and ongoing changes in the region, says CFR's Robert M. Danin. As a result, he says, "the United States is going to have to look to new approaches and develop new tools towards dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Ultimately, the most important question the president will face is whether he will seek to resolve the conflict or just manage it, says Danin arguing, "presidents, who seek to manage it, have an easier time of it, but at the same time will hit more instability along the way."

This video is part of Campaign 2012, a series of video briefings on the top foreign policy issues debated in the run-up to the 2012 U.S. elections.

Robert M. Danin is Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. For more analysis, read his blog: http://blogs.cfr.org/danin/